Upper Macungie closer to coverage

An ordinance will be drafted to allow township to join a regional police force.

November 17, 2000|By WENDY E. SOLOMON Of The Morning Call

Upper Macungie Township residents are a step closer to getting local police coverage.

The Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Thursday to draft an ordinance that allows the township to join a regional police force that will be renamed the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department. The supervisors could vote on the ordinance at their next meeting in December.

If it passes, Upper Macungie would get 12 police officers who would be based at a substation in the township, although the regional police department to which they belong would be based in Maxatawny Township. At least two officers will be on patrol 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said Supervisor Chairman Porter Krisher.

The regional department, called the Northeastern Berks Regional Police Department, is headed by Chief Bryan D. Ross. It serves Maxatawny Township and Topton and Lyons boroughs. If Upper Macungie joins, the force would have 19 officers.

The supervisors' vote was unanimous, with Supervisor Tom Gorr casting his vote from a hospital bed via speaker phone.

Krisher hailed the board's decision, saying it ends 30 years of inquiry from residents about getting their own police force. Upper Macungie is served by state police at Fogelsville.

"I've been living this for 30 years," he said.

A recent township survey showed residents and businesses are receptive to the idea of a regional police force, as long as it does not cost much more than the cost of relying on state police.

Krisher, a former state trooper in Fogelsville, said he once opposed the notion of a regional police force but later changed his mind, especially when there was talk three years ago that the state would require municipalities to pay for state police coverage.

Although a Pennsylvania State Police spokesman said the fee issue is dead, Gorr said there are rumblings "behind the scenes" about resurrecting it.

If the state does not impose a fee, the township survey showed respondents prefer to continue to rely on state police at no added cost.

Krisher commended the state police's law enforcement in the township, but said in a news release the township's rapid growth "calls for more resources and more time than they can logically provide. There are quality of life issues in our communities that must be attended to on a consistent basis."

The supervisors noted there was an advantage to having a local police force handle violations such as vandalism, speeding on neighborhood streets, zoning code infractions and rowdy parties.

Krisher cited the financial benefits of joint police forces because costs are shared among participating municipalities.

Supervisor Von George said aside from cost-effectiveness, Upper Macungie will continue to receive state police coverage along with its local police. "By joining a regional police force it gives us authority to make decisions."

Residents, he said, "will have that close-to-home police force who will respond quickly and be backed up by the state police. If we had to close the door on the state police, I don't know if I'd want that."

Upper Macungie's regional police coverage could begin as early as March, Krisher said. The township would have a three-year contract with the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department, but could leave it, provided it gives one-year notice.

The township's costs the first year will be about $1 million and has been factored into the 2001 budget, Gorr said. In addition, money had been set aside for a potential joint police force. The budget will be presented by Dec. 1 and does not include a tax increase, he said.

The figure includes about $245,000 for start-up costs the first year and an additional $750,000 in salary and other costs, he said.

The township will need to hire and train 12 police officers and buy uniforms and four or five well-equipped police cars, among other costs, he said. A beginning police officer's salary will be about $34,000.